Desk manifolder



March 16, 1937 R, ROOT 2,073,712

DESK MANIFOLDER Filed March 2'7, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet l Invenliog R c. ROOT DESK MANIFOLDER Filed March 27, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6 I8 I lo 14- Inventor; 42m h cpooc.

Patented Mar. 16, 1937 PATENT OFFICE I DESK MANIFOLDER Ralph 0. Root, Indianapolis, Ind.

Application March 27,

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a device adapted to.

that a plurality of copies of any desired writing may be had upon making a single impression. This device is commonly termed an autographic register or a manifolder.

It is a primary purpose of my invention to provide such a device in a very simple and light form such that it may be produced and sold at a relatively low price and also such that it may be ofa portable nature to be carried about by a billing clerk or a shipping clerk and the like so that the records may be made immediately adjacent the items to be listed.

' It is a further primary object of my invention to provide means permitting the easy threading of the various sheets over the platen and then shifting them without tending to shift the carbon sheets out of position or tear their edges as the sheets may be travelled thereover. In this regard I provide a detachable carbon sheet guard which may be readily removed and replaced without the '25 employment of latches or the like.

A still further important object of my inven tion is to provide a simple presser bar to retain the superimposed sheets in position over aligning pins and at the same time form a tear-01f bar.

Also an important object of the invention is found in the particular means for mounting the carbon sheet roll sol-as to retain it in position and at the same time provide the desired tension thereto. 7

I These and other objects and advantages will become apparent to those versed in the art in the following description of the invention wherein one particular form is shown by the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a top perspective view of a device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2, a detail in side elevation of the presser bar tension mechanism; V

Fig. 3, a vertical longitudinal section on the line 33 in. Fig, 1; l

Fig. 4, a rear end elevation with portions of the wall broken. away;

Fig. 5, a left hand side elevation; Fig. 6, a longitudinal vertical section similar 50 to that shown in Fig. 3, but with paper shown threaded through the device;

Fig. 7, a view in perspective of one of the carbon sheet guards, and

Fig. 8, a vertical transverse section on the line 55 8-8 in Fig. 6.

1935, Serial No. 13,257

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout theseveral views in the drawings.

I form a generally rectangular box l0 closed on the bottom, sides and top, but having each end open. The top of the box forms a platen H and a false bottom l2 within-the box is employed, onwhich bottom l2 a plurality of superimposed zig-zag folded sheets [3 may be carried. I also insert inner walls 14 and i5 along the vertical side walls of the box 10, Fig. 8. The rear end of the platen l l is sloped downwardly between these side walls l4 and I5 to form the incline I6, Fig. 6. I mount a roller II on a shaft l8 having its ends extending through the walls I and I5 so that the sheets of paper in the pack l3 may be carried from over that pack around the roller l'l, up the incline l6 andacross over the platen I l.

The rear end of the box ill is provided with a door l9 herein shown as being hinged to the bottom of thebox Ill. The upper end of the door l9 terminates within the plane of the platen II. A cover-20 is hinged along one side of the box Ill, here shown as along the left hand side by the hinge 2 I This cover 2|] is formed to extend outwardly from the side of the box Ill and thence upwardly and around over the platen I l and carries a flange 22 fitting downwardly over the upper end of the door l9 and also down over the opposite vertical side wall of the box In for a short distance at least. This cover 20 is provided with a central opening over the platen l l to give that exposure of the forms from the pack l3 as may be desired upon which writing is to be placed.

Within the bulged-out portion of the cover 20 immediately above the hinge 2! on the side of the box ID, I mount a roller or axle 23, Fig. 8, by placing its ends within the V-like notches in brackets 24 and 25 fixed to and extending outwardly from the side wall of the box It. In order to .retain the ends of the axle 23 within these notches, I use a spring 26 secured by its lower end to the sidewall of the box andnormally pressing against the outer side of the axle end to urge the axle back snugly within the bracket. One such spring is used at each end of the axle at each bracket. In order to remove the axle, all that is necessary is to pull laterally outwardly on the axle to overcome the springs so as to let the axle slip therepast. To replace the axle, the springs are pulled outwardly and the axle inserted therebehind within the brackets.

This axle 23 is employed to carry a roll of carbon paper in one or more superimposed layers, here shown as two layers, Fig. 8, so that the car bon sheets may be pulled from the roll on the axle and carried transversely across over the platen II and then be carried downwardly along the other vertical side of the box II] as the cover is dropped thereover tocompress the ends of the carbon paper against and between the downturned flange 22 of the cover and the side of the box as indicated in Fig. 8. Of course, as fresh carbon paper is desired, the cover may be lifted and the carbon paper pulled over the platen, the cover dropped into place, and then the used paper torn off by pulling up against the under edge of the flange 22.

The forward end of the cover 20 is provided with an upturned flange 21 extending upwardly at the forward end of the opening through the cover. Ahead of the flange 21 is mounted a pressure plate 28 hinged transversely across the forward end of the platen II, the hinge being immediately adjacent and contacting the upturned flange 21, and further being spaced above the platen I I sufliciently to permit the desired number of sheets of paper from the pack I3 to slide thereunder. This plate 28 is provided with a plurality of apertures 29, here shown as two in number, to receive therethrough registry pins 30, one through each aperture. These pins 30 are fixed to and carried by the platen H to extend upwardly therefrom and at least through the plate 28. The lateral spacing of the pins 38 is that to correspond with the usual apertures (not shown) provided in the customary paper.

In order to retain the plate 28 in its normal position pressing downwardly against what paper may be thereunder and yet to permit the plate 28 to be raised when desired, I fix to each end of the shaft 3| to which the plate 28 is fixed, an arm 32, Fig. 2, which has a foot 33 formed and positioned in relation to the plate 28 such that it will strike the under side of the platen I I to limit the upward travel of the plate 28. The under side of the foot 33 is also formed to ride over a roller 34 on each end of a shaft 35 as the case may be. This shaft 35 has its ends extending through the inner side walls I4 and I5 through slots therein so that the travel of the shaft is confined to a vertical direction. A spring 36 normally pulls the shaft upwardly to its upper limit of travel thereby urging the rollers 34 against the under sides of the feet 33. The under side of each foot 33 is so shaped in the nature of a cam that when the plate 28 is dropped to its lower position, the rollers 34 will be on the forward sides of upturned portions of the feet so as to urge the arms 32 rearwardly and hence pull the plate 28 downwardly. In order to lift the plate 28 from this position, it is then necessary to rock the arms v32 forwardly and thus cause a depression of the shaft 35 overcoming the pull of the spring 36 so that when the plate 28 is then carried to its extreme upper limit of travel, there is another rearwardly and upwardly curved portion on each foot 33 to be then on the forward side of the respective rollers 34 suchthat the plate 28 is then retained in that upper position.

Now in threading the sheets of paper from the pack I3 over the platen II and arranging the various sheets of carbon paper therebetween, I first take the top-most sheet on the pack I3 and carry it around over the roller I1 and up over the platen II and engage its openings over the pins 30, it being understood that the cover 28 is first lifted upwardly and rocked to the left to be out of the way. Then I pull the carbon paper up from the roll on the axle 23 and take the under-most sheet thereof and lay it across and over that first sheet of paper placed on the platen II. A divider 31, generally indicated in Fig. 7, is then placed in position over the rear end of the sheet of paper from the pack I3 and the rear edge of the carbon sheet. This divider 31 consists essentially of a spring-like wire 38 adapted to be bowed upwardly as indicated in Fig. 7 to have its ends inserted through holes provided in the inner walls I4 and I5 so as to have that wire 38 in parallel relation to the roller I! and sufficiently above the incline I6 to permit the paper sheet to pass thereunder. Attached to the wire 38 is a piece of material flexible in nature, preferably some starched fabric, which is of sufficient length to extend up the incline I6 over the paper sheet and sufiiciently over the platen II to have it lap over on top of the rear edge of the carbon paper.

Then a second sheet of paper next appearing under the first sheet taken from the pack I3 is carried around over the roller I], over the divider 31 and up the incline I6 across over the carbon paper on the platen I I to have its apertured ends engaged over the pins 30. Then a second sheet of carbon paper is laid over on top of this second form sheet and another divider 39 formed in the same manner as the divider 3'! has its ends inserted through holes provided in the walls I4 and I5 above and forwardly of those receiving the divider 37. The only difierence between the divider 39 and the divider 31 is that the fabric in the divider 39 is of less length so as to terminate substantially immediately above the forward edge of the fabric in the divider 37, but in any event to be of sufiicient length to lap over that second'sheet of carbon paper.

Then the third form sheet from the pack I3 is brought around the roller I I and over the divider 39 and up across the platen II over the second carbon sheet to have the apertured end of the form sheet engaged over the pins or posts 30. It is to be understood that while I have herein described the threading of the paper as relating to three form sheets superimposed, any desired number may be employed, the three being taken merely as one example to illustrate the method of operation. The form sheets as above indicated are aligned one above the other by the posts 30. The plate 28 is dropped down against the form sheets thus aligned so that the sheets are then retained in the aligned and registered position by pressure of the plate 28 thereover.

After the sheets have been written upon as desired through the opening in the cover 20 the forward ends of the sheets may be gripped by the operators thumb and finger through an opening 40 cut through the upper central part of the corner of the box II) and vertical front end. By bringing the operators finger into the opening 40 under the sheets, the sheets may be lifted to lift the plate 28 so that the sheets may be pulled upwardly off of the pins 30 and then pulled forwardly the desired distance until the next set of holes in the form sheets are brought over the pins 38 and dropped down thereover. The plate 28 is then lowered andheld in place by hand while the sheets are pulled ahead and then lifted upwardly to have their rear ends torn by shearing along the forward edge of the plate 28. The forward edges of the carbon sheets between the forms terminate, of course, behind the pins 30 so that they are not gripped by the operators fingers in pulling the sheets ahead and these sheets aovavm out the requirement of form shifting means of any sort. By elimination of such mechanism, the device is made to be exceedingly compact and light in weight so that it may be carried around by the operators and be of particular advantage to shipping and billing clerks who want to examine the goods, for example, as the forms are being filled out.

In order to tilt the forward end of the box when the device is to be used on a desk or table and the like, I provide a door 42 in the under side of the box at its forward end, Fig. 3, hinged to drop down by the forward end so as to form a leg to lift the front end of the box. Thus when this door is opened as indicated, the rear end of the box will rest on the table while the lower end of the door will also rest thereon thereby tilting upwardly the forward end of the box.

While I have herein shown and described my invention in the best form as now known to me, it is obvious that structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I, therefore, do not desire to be limited to that precise form beyond the limita tions as may be imposed by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A manifolding device comprising a box having side walls formed of two spread apart members, said box adapted to hold a pack of zig-zag folded superimposed sheets having registering apertures, a platen having a downwardly inclined rear end, said box having means for holding a supply of one or more carbon papers along a side of the box whereby the paper may be carried laterally across the platen to have a carbon paper between sheets laid over the platen, and a divider for each carbon paper placed between two of said sheets transversely of the platen toward the rearend thereof to lap over the rear edge of the paper between the sheets whereby the sheets may be shifted ahead without dragging on said carbon paper edge, said divider being formed to have a spring member engaging by its ends in apertures in the inner side walls of the box whereby the member will be held from longitudinal movement by the outer walls but may be bowed to reduce its effective length to permit disengagement from said apertures and an apron extending from the spring member to form said lap the 7 adapted to hold a pack of zig-zag folded, superimposed sheets each having registering apertures, said box having a platen, with pins fixed at the forward end of the platen toreceive and register said apertures when said sheets are carried over the platen, a presser plate: hinged to said box to drop over said sheets about said pins, cam means yieldingly holding said plate selectively in a lowered position against the sheets and in a raised position removed from the sheets, said plate serving both to releasably retain said sheets in register over said pins and as a sheet tear-off bar when raised. v

3. A manifolding device comprising a box adapted to hold a pack of zig-zag folded superimposed sheets having registering apertures, a box lid having flanges at the sides of the box, a platen, said box having means for holding a supply of one or more carbon papers along a side of the box whereby the paper may be carried laterally across the platen and clamped between a lid flange and box side and torn against the flange to have a carbon paper between sheets laid over the platen, and said box having a divider for each carbon paper placed between two of said sheets transversely of the platen toward the rear end thereof to lap over the rear edge of the paper between the sheets whereby the sheets may be shifted ahead without dragging on said carbon paper edge, brake means in said carbon paper holder for holding the carbon papers at that end so they will be tightened against the paper sheets by clamping the carbon paper between the box side and lid flange,therearendofsaidplatenhaving an inclined portion, a roller at the lower edge of the inclined portion and said divider being mounted across said portion to extend upwardly thereover and over said platen.

4. In a manifolding device, sheet registering pins, a presser and tear-off plate hinged to drop over said pins, an arm fixed to rock with the plate, a cam on the arm, a bar over which the cam rides, said bar being mounted to be reciprocable toward and away from said plate in the'path of said cam, and spring means urging the bar toward said plate, said cam being formed to cause said plate to yieldingly remain in either a down or an upper position by pressure of said bar thereagainst.

5. In a manifolding device comprising a box, and a platen having sheet registering pins, and having a presser and tear-off plate hinged to drop over the pins, a cover having a central opening over the platen terminating with a member turned up sharply to form a stiffening flange for and against the hinge of the tear-off plate.

6. In a manifolding device, a box having a door at one end hinged to swing downwardly to raise that end and having a door at the other end hinged to swing outwardly and downwardly, and

having a platen and also having a pressure and tear-01f plate hinged to the platen in combination with a cover for the box having a flange at one end to lap over and hold the second door in closed position of the door, said cover having a central opening terminating with a member turned up vertically to form a stiffening flange for and against the hinge of the tear-off plate.

7. In a manifolding device comprising a box having outer and inner side walls with holes through the inner walls in combination with a platen in the box having an end portion bent angularly downward, a carbon paper edge protector comprising a flexible spring wire mounted in the space above the downwardly bent portion of the platen and a fabric attached to the wire to extend laterally therefrom across the angular bend in the platen and to leave a length of wire extending at each end from the fabric which ends are inserted through corresponding holes in opposite inner walls and are held from longitudinal movement by contact with the outer walls of the box.

8. In a manifolding device, a box having therein a platen, means for feeding paper strips from front to rear of the box over the platen and means for supplying carbon paper between the paper strips in combination with a door under the box and hinged to the front end of the box to swing downwardly and raise that end of the box while that end of the box is closed.

RALPH C. ROOT. 

